Raising funds to help redress socio-economic inequalities and facilitate the growth of the economy through our monthly initiative Black pound day.
What
We are raising funds to facilitate the visibility of Black businesses and the growth of the Black economy. Businesses run by Black and minority ethnic groups contribute between £25 – 32 Billion to the British economy every year, yet Black entrepreneurs are more than twice as likely to be denied a loan than white entrepreneurs, blighting their visibility and access to market. Black businesses are amongst the least visible on the high street and on the major search engines in the UK and Black women are projected to be the least funded business group.
We plan to help redress these inequalities by using funds raised to make Black businesses more visible through our monthly initiative Black pound day. A day, which provides accessibility and opportunity for the Black community and consumers of all ethnicities to spend with Black business on the high-street or online via the business directory www.blackpoundday.uk which is the biggest Black business directory in the UK as it stands.
We have managed to raise £2000 thus far through donations from businesses we are associated with and were made visible to through our social media campaign leading up to the 27th of June 2020 – the Black pound day launch. We managed 20,000 website hits and to be seen by millions across the UK Our story was covered by a majority of the major media platforms including Sky News, BBC, channel 4 and channel 5, we trended number 1 on twitter and had 10K posts on Instagram through our #BlackPoundDay hashtag.
With this socio-political momentum we plan to expand our reach and support more entrepreneurs and Black businesses getting access to the wider market.
Why
Black and minority ethnic people in Britain face extensive and persistent economic inequality. More specifically Black and minority ethnic men have much higher unemployment rates than White British men. White entrepreneurs have a 19% success rate above Black entrepreneurs in the UK as echoed by business growth expert
Asari St Hill. Lastly the recent coronavirus crisis has further widened the racial wealth gap disproportionately affecting many more Black businesses.
Visibility for Black businesses is a vital factor to their survival, they are overshadowed by major corporations and lack access to the general consumer. A majority of the general public do not know where or how to support Black businesses, a notion expressed by Grammy award winning British artist Jess Glynn –in reference to her support of the Black pound day initiative.
Why Black Businesses?
- Black and minority ethnic people in Britain face extensive and persistent economic inequality. (Runnymead report, 2020)
- Resulting in Black and minority ethnic men having much Higher unemployment rates than White British men. (ONS, 2019)
- Which maintains the racial wealth gap – to every pound a white house hold makes Black Caribbean’s earn 20p whilst Africans earn 10p
Get in touch
If you have any questions related to this fund or it’s organisers please get in touch.
